— Irina Viktorovna, how did the theater celebrate its birthday this year?
– In the days of Yuri Petrovich Lyubimov, it was customary to celebrate the birthday of the theater with a new performance every year. We are trying to continue this tradition. One such premiere this time was Don Quixote or Sancho Panza. “The Russian Diary” by Denis Khusniyarov is based on the play by the playwright Alexei Zhitkovsky. In this performance, we imagine how the well-known story might have developed if the noble hidalgo and his faithful aide-de-camp were in our time.
– What other prime ministers can we expect this season?
We won’t be posting anything new this season. But next year, in September, just in time for Yuri Petrovich’s birthday, the performance “The Horseman” based on the stories of Isaac Babel will be released. It will be directed by Denis Azarov. And at the beginning of November, we will get “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik” by Yaroslav Hasek. There is no definitive name for the show yet.
– You once said that the Taganka audience is conditionally divided into two camps: fans of the Snow Maiden and Le Tartuffe. Comedy. What caused such a split?
– These are two very different brilliant performances. Why there is such a division, I do not understand myself. But really – those who like “Tartuffe” do not really like “The Snow Maiden”, and fans of “The Snow Maiden” do not understand “Le Tartuffe”. I think there is absolute flavor here. Now I’m not talking about all viewers, I’m just talking about friends whose opinions I value.
which camp are you in
– I can not decide, I published both one and the other, since both performances are my children. I love them equally. Naturally, I adored Le Tartuffe when it first came out. A little later, The Snow Maiden came out – and then it stood out for being fresh.
— What do you pay attention to most when creating a repertoire?
– First, on the professionalism of the director. Then there’s dramaturgy. Honestly, I like Soviet dramaturgy the most – incredibly strong, professional, despite some of the dictates of time. The plays are written according to the most classic, most beautiful canons. There are excellent images, each character has a story, perspective, development – in a word, something to play with. This is good. I am also a fan of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. His writings are still alive today. Our repertoire now includes The Cherry Orchard. Comedy” is incredibly relevant.
A scene from the play “Snowgirl”
“Moscow Taganka Theater”
— Are there any projects that everyone can participate in? For example, master classes, lectures for the audience.
— To be honest, I don’t really like this story because theater has to create and show performances. There are many different institutions that can deal with this issue professionally for training programs. If we start making an amp or anything else, we’re taking time directly from our work.
— You invite Yuri Muravitsky, Denis Azarov, Alexei Frandeti and other directors to cooperate. Everyone has their own way of working. Whose approach do you prefer?
– None of them can be distinguished. For an actor, for example, working with any of these in different ways is a blessing. At first, when I first came to this theater, I started doing laboratories with directors working in different ways. The community, accustomed to Yuri Lyubimov, was terrified, faced with a different approach. The thought “I don’t know how” causes panic. And then, when you start cooking in it, you realize you’ve become even more professional. By the way, it’s not unfounded talk that the Taganka Theater has the strongest acting troupe. What is meant here is the profession, the craft, not the well-known surnames and names people refer to. This result was one of my goals.
– How difficult was the adaptation process for the artists?
“Of course it was difficult. Every professional knows how to do something as he was taught. A good master, for example, knows how to brew certain pipes. If you give him others, he may be confused at first. So with artists – first they got used to it, then they stopped being afraid and told the director and they started to trust themselves.We probably had a season.
– Which directors do you plan to look for in the near future – from those with whom you have not yet worked?
– Maybe we can talk about Damir Salimzyanov, who will be staging “Schweik” for us. That’s right, she joined the director’s lab in 2016. Next year there should be a joint premiere with the Chekhov Festival, the play “Mu-mu” will be performed by the Armenian director Narine Grigoryan. We haven’t worked with him yet. I think I can collect the best.
– How is the situation in the director’s labs now?
Until we’re done with them. We have a lot of work now, but labs still take time. Our last lab session last fall had no success, so I decided to take a break.
Are there any actors you want to see on your stage?
– I would love to see Alexei Serebryakov, Andrei Smolyakov, Konstantin Yushkevich. But these are the artists you need to perform, they just can’t be invited to some kind of work. And not because they have such big names. I invite artists here only when there is no one suitable for a particular role in the Taganka group. If there is such an artist, there is no need to invite anyone from outside.
– How do young people who leave the walls of theater universities show themselves? What is it, new generation?
– They’re different. It can be difficult with young people, but of course there are smart, talented guys. By the way, we usually do not include “young people” in the community. We got the biggest set four years ago when we bought it three or four times. Since then – no one has withdrawn from another theater, except for Alexei Grishin. I also invited Oleg Sokolov, who is not listed in any group.
– At the end of 2021, the Taganka Theater merged with the “Taganka Actors Ensemble”. How was the process?
– The human factor is the hardest. It was not easy to begin to unite the disparate groups that never really intersected, did not follow each other’s business. Now I try to include both groups in the performances in the same way, proportionally. Now though, of course, it’s already a single team.
Irina Apeksimova
Ekaterina Chesnokova/RIA Novosti
– The Taganka Theater was a breath of fresh air for its era, it was bold, courageous. And what is it now, how would you formulate it?
– When it appeared in 1964, there were only about 20 theaters in the city, with musical, children’s and puppet theaters. Now only a few dozen are attached to Moscow. Then time was different – there was no Internet, social networks. What is happening to us now? I will not be original and will quote some very nice words for me from a serious art critic-theatre critic I read recently. He wrote: “The Taganka Theater is a smart theater.” This is true. It remains a smart theater for smart people. We honor the glorious past. For example, Yuri Lyubimov’s The Master and Margarita of 45 years in our repertoire, and the Good Man from Sezuan, which has been going on since 1964 – the theater began with him.
How hard is it to get the audience’s attention?
– Very difficult. The supply really exceeds the demand, and it’s very difficult to reach the audience, to tell them that such and such a performance is being staged at this theater – there is very little funding for it, much less than you might think. The most effective way is word of mouth. It is the same now as it was 60 years ago. There are always some tasks to be solved.
The epidemic has become a serious challenge for everyone. How did the theater break free from the constraints associated with it?
– An online format was needed at the onset of the pandemic, we adapted to the new reality. But this is theater in its inanimate form. The theater must be seen in the hall. This is a direct exchange of energy, eye contact with guests. This is really important. And you can’t see anything on the flat screen. It is impossible to watch a performance shot in one long take. Special teleplays are a completely different story, a separate piece of video shooting and editing, very different from what the director puts on stage.
And now the restrictions have been lifted.
– We remembered that the audience has faces, they can react. When you look at the auditorium where people are sitting with masks, you can’t tell if they are smiling or crying. It’s not always easy to tell with one eye.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.